Friday, May 04, 2007

This coming May 24th a 'general election' will take place in this 26-County State to elect and/or re-elect 165 time-serving place-seekers who will sit in a plush building in Kildare Street in Dublin city centre , pay themselves a basic salary of €2013 a week (...whilst , at the same time [in some cases], paying themselves up to €1572 a week 'expenses' on top of their salary!) and wash their manicured hands of responsibility for their continued and repeated failures to those voters that previously would have considered them 'worthy' enough to sit in that institution .

In this election we encourage those of our readers who are entitled to vote to SPOIL THAT VOTE ! Go to your polling station , claim your vote and deliberately and purposely SPOIL IT ! We ourselves , from this blog , will be writing - " Release All Political Prisoners!" on our voting ballot , but any message you decide to write on your ballot will have the same effect ie that vote will be deemed 'spoiled' . A 'spoiled vote' is the only proper option open to those of us who wish to declare that we view the whole political system , as it now stands , as a corrupt , money-grabbing 'mé féin' and morally bankrupt system , run , operated , controlled and maintained by useless self-servers .

IF YOU HAVE A VOTE THIS MAY 2007 , USE IT TO MAKE A PROTEST. SPOIL IT !

' In the court , which was presided over by two Resident Magistrates , a number of young people were fined for having copies of 'The United Irishman' newspaper in their possession ! The whole 'security' show was put on in an attempt to intimidate the people and show them the reserves at the disposal of the Occupation authorities .

Susan Connolly , Aghanashammer , Roslea , and John Murray of Drummerinte, Roslea , were fined £5 each . Theresa Goodwin of Lakeview , Roslea , was fined £3 , and a similar charge against John Goodwin , Lakeview , was dismissed . One of the Resident Magistrates , Mr. T. Elliott , said that other persons found in possession of 'documents' such as 'The United Irishman' newspaper would not get off so lightly . He said that these penalties should be taken as a warning : people should not have 'The United Irishman' in their possession . The RUC District Inspector joined in the warning ' .

('1169...' Comment : British 'law and order' on public display - 'possession' of a newspaper deemed an 'illegal' act ! That attitude remains prevalent to this day , but the 'Resident Magistrates' and their type have learned not to express it publicly.)(Next - from the same source : 'INSIDE THE CURRAGH CONCENTRATION CAMP')

As if it weren't enough that Clare Daly is associated with one big anti-privatisation issue of the day , she is also the champion of the Dublin Airport workers as part of the Dublin Airport Workers Network (DAWN) . She has worked in the catering division of Aer Lingus since the mid-nineties and has been 'causing trouble' on behalf of the workers all the while ! In December 2002 , she had to undertake in the (State) High Court not to trespass on or obstruct premises belonging to Cityjet at Dublin Airport during a dispute over union recognition , pay and conditions .

In April 2003 , she stated there would be industrial action throughout Aer Lingus if company boss , Willie Walsh, went ahead with a plan to jettison its 300 catering workers and she has accused Seamus Brennan of priming Aer Rianta for privatisation by splitting it into three , earlier this year . She has clashed with the SIPTU leadership too , and in 2001 she and Brendan Leech were suspended as branch trustees for refusing to sign blank cheques for cabin crew expenses arising from union activity . Clare Daly claimed these were excessive as , despite making up only 10 per cent of the membership , cabin crew were accounting for 80 per cent of expenses - that's a lot of Ballygowan! She and Brendan Leech were later reinstated after a (State) High Court challenge ....... (MORE LATER).

DEATH AND MYSTERY .John O Shea was a small farmer and republican . He died at his Kerry home in October 2001 within hours of being released from Garda custody . The inquest into his death raised more questions than it answered and now Kerry County Council has backed calls for a public inquiry . Did John O Shea die from natural causes or is there a more sinister explanation ? By Mairead Carey.From'MAGILL' magazine, May 2003 .

The motion to Kerry County Council sat uncomfortably between calls for the retention of existing bin lorries and resurfacing graveyards . It sought backing for a public inquiry into the death of Castlemaine republican John O' Shea, who was found dead at his home in October 2001 , just hours after being released from Garda custody .

The motion also called for new legislation governing the conduct of inquests which would be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights: the motion was passed unanimously . For Michael O' Shea (43) , sitting in the public gallery of the county council chamber in Tralee , this at last offered some recognition that all was not right with the Garda investigation into the death of his younger brother . Eighteen months after John was found in a pool of blood outside his home , Michael still isn't sure how or why he died . The inquest into his death raised more questions than it answered .

The State pathologist , Dr. John Harbison, had originally said John O' Shea died from hypothermia but later withdrew his findings . He had based his verdict on information given to him by gardai that O' Shea had been left semi-naked in the cold for hours . The gardai denied they ever said this . John O' Shea had a slightly enlarged heart , the pathologist said , and offered 'heart failure' as a possible cause of death together with acute alcohol intoxication . He couldn't explain why John O' Shea had so many marks on his body , face and neck . The jury weren't convinced by the explanation and returned an open verdict.......(MORE LATER).

Between the years 1917 and 1981 ,22 Irish men died on hunger strike in their fight for Irish Freedom . That same fight continues today , as six Irish counties remain under the jurisdictional control of Westminster , which enforces that control with military occupation . The annual Hunger-Strike Commemoration -organised by the Republican Movement- will be held this year on Saturday , 5 May , when a picket and rally will be held on the traffic isle facing the GPO in Dublin's O'Connell Street , beginning at 1(one) P.M. ALL WELCOME!

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Between the years 1917 and 1981 ,22 Irish men died on hunger strike in their fight for Irish Freedom . That same fight continues today , as six Irish counties remain under the jurisdictional control of Westminster , which enforces that control with military occupation . The annual Hunger-Strike Commemoration -organised by the Republican Movement- will be held this year on Saturday , 5 May , when a picket and rally will be held on the traffic isle facing the GPO in Dublin's O'Connell Street , beginning at 1(one) P.M. ALL WELCOME!

MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT - SPOIL IT !

This coming May 24th a 'general election' will take place in this 26-County State to elect and/or re-elect 165 time-serving place-seekers who will sit in a plush building in Kildare Street in Dublin city centre , pay themselves a basic salary of €2013 a week (...whilst , at the same time [in some cases], paying themselves up to €1572 a week 'expenses' on top of their salary!) and wash their manicured hands of responsibility for their continued and repeated failures to those voters that previously would have considered them 'worthy' enough to sit in that institution .

In this election we encourage those of our readers who are entitled to vote to SPOIL THAT VOTE ! Go to your polling station , claim your vote and deliberately and purposely SPOIL IT ! We ourselves , from this blog , will be writing - " Release All Political Prisoners!" on our voting ballot , but any message you decide to write on your ballot will have the same effect ie that vote will be deemed 'spoiled' . A 'spoiled vote' is the only proper option open to those of us who wish to declare that we view the whole political system , as it now stands , as a corrupt , money-grabbing 'mé féin' and morally bankrupt system , run , operated , controlled and maintained by useless self-servers .

IF YOU HAVE A VOTE THIS MAY 2007 , USE IT TO MAKE A PROTEST. SPOIL IT !

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

' Before the court were two girls and two men charged with 'possession' of the 'United Irishman' newspaper ! This is the reason for the 'security precautions' , and why Roslea RUC Barracks has been turned into a veritable fortress .

For some time past this large , modern building , which is equipped with radio and other modern aids to security , has been fortified by having a barrier of sandbags erected in front of the doors and windows , which are also equipped with steel shutters inside . Now several machine gun nests have been constructed of sandbags in the grounds and a wall of sandbags is in the course of erection right round the building so as to allow movement around the barracks even under fire .

RUC dogs also patrol the vicinity and barbed wire entanglements are also in position . Hedges in front of the building have been cut low , apparently to allow for a large field of fire . '

Iron Heel On Roslea : ' British air and ground troops carried out strict security precautions during the holding of a court at Roslea , County Fermanagh , on December 6 , 1957 . A low-flying spotter plane circled the town during the court sitting while RUC men , armed with sten-guns , guarded the court-house outside . Strong patrols were on guard at all approaches to Roslea and all persons entering the town were stopped and questioned....... '(MORE LATER).

A letter dated February 18 , 2003 , from Fingal County Council to John Glennon of SIPTU, which represents the binmen , quoted Senior Council Executive Officer Joe O' Reilly , as saying - " It is felt that private refuse collection contractors are better equipped to deliver the service . I should be obliged therefore if you could meet .....with a view to discussing the orderly wind-down of the refuse collection service ."

However , last week the Council said that that letter was old hat and that other arrangements have since been reached with the binmen . 'Yeah , right...' , say the anti-bin tax campaigners.

Clare Daly studied accounting and finance in NIHE (now DCU) and joined the Labour Party in 1986 , around the time of the divorce referendum. She was on the 'National(sic) Youth Executive' and the 'Administrative Council' of that Party when in 1989 she , Joe Higgins and ten other members were booted out by Ruairi Quinn and other party bigwigs for being too militant .

GLOSSARY OF THE LEFT IN IRELAND : FROM 1960 TO 1983.......These notes attempt to record the left-wing organisations which have existed in Ireland since 1960 . No attempt has been made to record purely local organisations outside Dublin and Belfast , or microscopic groups which never reached double figures . The larger organisations have been presented in more detail .From 'GRALTON' magazine, 1983. By John Goodwillie.(NOTE : Links in the following article are as accurate as possible - not all the groups mentioned left a discernible 'footprint' .)

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

This coming May 24th a 'general election' will take place in this 26-County State to elect and/or re-elect 165 time-serving place-seekers who will sit in a plush building in Kildare Street in Dublin city centre , pay themselves a basic salary of €2013 a week (...whilst , at the same time [in some cases], paying themselves up to €1572 a week 'expenses' on top of their salary!) and wash their manicured hands of responsibility for their continued and repeated failures to those voters that previously would have considered them 'worthy' enough to sit in that institution .

In this election we encourage those of our readers who are entitled to vote to SPOIL THAT VOTE ! Go to your polling station , claim your vote and deliberately and purposely SPOIL IT ! We ourselves , from this blog , will be writing - " Release All Political Prisoners!" on our voting ballot , but any message you decide to write on your ballot will have the same effect ie that vote will be deemed 'spoiled' . A 'spoiled vote' is the only proper option open to those of us who wish to declare that we view the whole political system , as it now stands , as a corrupt , money-grabbing 'mé féin' and morally bankrupt system , run , operated , controlled and maintained by useless self-servers .

IF YOU HAVE A VOTE THIS MAY 2007 , USE IT TO MAKE A PROTEST. SPOIL IT !

HUNGER STRIKE MEMORIAL RALLY , DUBLIN , SATURDAY MAY 5th , 2007 .

Between the years 1917 and 1981 ,22 Irish men died on hunger strike in their fight for Irish Freedom . That same fight continues today , as six Irish counties remain under the jurisdictional control of Westminster , which enforces that control with military occupation . The annual Hunger-Strike Commemoration -organised by the Republican Movement- will be held this year on Saturday , 5 May , when a picket and rally will be held on the traffic isle facing the GPO in Dublin's O'Connell Street , beginning at 1(one) P.M. ALL WELCOME!

UPDATE : A copy of the above 'Spoil It' post has been removed by a Moderator from the 'Political Forum' of the 'Dublin.ie' site . We were given the following reason - " Sharon, you may be wondering why your threads on the above topic disappeared. As a government run site, we can't condone the promotion of spoiling votes If you wish to discuss the merits of voting, by all means do so, but please do not encourage other users to spoil votes as you have done before. "

A discussion re that censorship is on-going as I write but , from past experience , we know their position will not change . We posted same twice on that site and it was removed by the same Moderator on both occasions . However , we have survived worst in the past.......

Monday, April 30, 2007

' An extraordinary attempt is now being made to intimidate the nationalist people of Occupied Ireland by a show of force . What happened in Roslea , County Fermanagh , during the past month is only a case in point .

When a 'Crimes Court' held its first sitting in Roslea , aircraft assisted the ground forces in carrying out what Stormont calls "security precautions" , which included air-ground radio communications and , after the court sitting ended , the aircraft continued the low-flying survey .

On the ground , strong patrols of RUC covered the district . At various points in the village the RUC , armed with sub-machine guns , took up positions in the entries and alcoves , while at the rear of the small courthouse , patrols with Sten-guns covered the yards and gardens . There were further strong patrols at road-crossings and all persons not personally known to the RUC men were stopped and closely questioned . A considerable number of RUC and B-Specials were held in reserve at the local RUC Barracks : there are now 10 RUC Commandos in Roslea . The bulk of the RUC was made up of the new RUC Commando force drafted into the area to assist in the "security precautions......." '(MORE LATER).

Clare Daly is scarily committed to her politics - even for a Trot - and , despite having a three-year-old daughter and a full-time job , has barely been off the airwaves in the week before she went inside , flustering even every Dub's 'best friend' , Joe Duffy. She has been hammering home her belief that the bin charges are just a first step to privatising the bin service in Dublin - one over which there will be no price control and whixch will put binmen's jobs and conditions at risk .

Dublin is 'the Alamo' for the privatisation of all public services , she stated , and most local authorities that have introduced bin charges for householders have subsequently privatised the service . This is because when those in Leinster House tried to bring in water charges they did so first in Dublin , and there they fell - in no small part due to Clare Daly . This time around they have taken the country first , with Dublin the last to 'fall' . In typical Socialist Party fashion , the bin campaign has taken it upon itself to stand up even for those who want to pay the charges , claiming they have been bullied * into paying . ( * '1169..' Comment : ...for our part , we can confirm that the local authority in this area has posted out 'red letters' to non-payers , 'advising' them that court action may follow unless they pay the double tax .)

GLOSSARY OF THE LEFT IN IRELAND : FROM 1960 TO 1983.......These notes attempt to record the left-wing organisations which have existed in Ireland since 1960 . No attempt has been made to record purely local organisations outside Dublin and Belfast , or microscopic groups which never reached double figures . The larger organisations have been presented in more detail .From 'GRALTON' magazine, 1983. By John Goodwillie.(NOTE : Links in the following article are as accurate as possible - not all the groups mentioned left a discernible 'footprint' .)

"Country"? An e-mail to their Head Office seeking clarification has already been dispatched - the reply , if any , will be posted here . Meanwhile , it would be better to refrain from purchasing road-maps or geography books etc from any of their stores as same would most likely only lead you further astray.......